This invention relates generally to therapeutic braces and, more particularly, to an adjustable splint for therapeutic support of a limb of a patient at a joint.
Splints or braces are typically used to hold joints of a limb, such as wrist or elbow joints, in a neutral position to promote healing of bone or other tissue. The angle at which these splints hold the joint has generally not been adjustable. The degree of flexation or extension of the joint, however, may vary from patient to patient and may even vary in an individual patient depending on the progress of the patient""s therapy. For example, after a stroke or after the onset of a muscle attacking disease, for example, nerve palsy, a patient""s hand may become closed or clenched and the wrist may be involuntarily fixed in a palmarflexion position. To restore the use of the hand, the patient may undergo a therapy to open the clenched fist and to urge the wrist towards a more neutral position. This can be accommodated by a splint, which can be adjustable at the joint to assume different positions. Such an adjustable splint for a wrist brace has been proposed by Klotz in U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,471. The mechanism proposed by Klotz, however, involves installing either individual machine screws or bolts and wing nuts at medial and lateral sides of the splint. There remains a need for improvement of such a splint to provide an easier mechanism for selecting the angle of flexion of the splint.
In general, according to one embodiment, a splint for a limb of a person includes a first splint member having a shape conforming to a first portion of the limb and a second splint member having a shape conforming to a second portion of the limb. The splint further includes an adjustment mechanism to vary the relative angular position of the first and second splint members, the adjustment mechanism including first and second engagement members cooperable with each other at plural positions.
Other embodiments and features will become apparent from the following description, from the drawings and from the claims.